How to choose and analyze the matches to bet

Another article looking to enlighten a “newbie” bettor in this new found world of online betting

This time, we will try to explain how the InsideBet Tipsters do it.

This topic is very interesting: how to choose and analyze the matches that you are going to bet in!

We found an InsideBet user, Ricardo Matos, who was kind enough to answer our questions and take part in this article with some insight directed for new bettors.

Ricardo, how do you prepare for a weekend of betting?

Before anything else, I’m grateful for this invite, and I hope to be able to help everyone with my experience and my words! Now moving on to your question: Simply put, my bets for a weekend are heavily affected by last weekend.

I’ll explain: Whoever listens to our Friday podcasts for example, should know by know that some team names appear very often on my picks. That’s because I dedicate my time and effort into studying the same team/league for a while.

I only give up on them when something happens, like a disastrous game or some important players missing, but even when that happens, we can do the opposite by searching if there is any value on the other team, since the knowledge we have is all about the team we’ve been following.

Despite that, it is still essential to have at least a general idea of the rest of the league, like following the results and watching some highlights, at least to see how their goals are scored, by who, etc.

This is specially important for people who like to bet on the Over/Under markets. Simply put, I’ll give an example. We have Everton, who is the team I’ve been following in the Premier League and that has been profitable for me so far.

Since the very first time I’ve watched them, I’ve warned our followers about them. This last weekend for example, another GREAT win over Middlesbrough, coming back from behind. Whoever heard the last Podcast knows that I had total faith in Everton, despite knowing there was a chance of Boro scoring.

This is just an example of what I usually do, I follow some teams and consequentially some leagues. I’m always on the lookout for what happens in England, Portugal and France. For the other leagues I just get information from our site IB and I read and listen to many other InsideBet users.

That also allows me to bet on some other value bets on some markets/leagues that I don’t know very well. I’ll give the example of RicSilva on the Chinese League and Rodrigo César on the Brazilian Serie A.

What is most important to you when it comes to making the decision whether or not to bet?

That’s a tricky question. As an Admin, I’m forced to say that everything is important. But I’ll be honest, sometimes we don’t have the time or patience to “study” everything about a certain match. When I analyze my bets, I try to absorb any information I can get.

To this analysis, I can also add my personal experience, and then compare the odds I have in mind to the odds offered by the Bookmakers. If I like the odds I’m getting from the sportsbook and if I think there’s any value, I go in with confidence.

If the odds don’t please me, I just hold back and refrain or lower my stake. But when I’m feeling it, I’ll go in, even if it’s just me against the world. Even when my opinion differs wildly from the odds offered, I’m still stubborn and I stick to my gut.

Because if I somehow don’t follow my initial idea and in the end I end up being right, I go crazy. But to sum it all up, the most important thing to me is how confident I feel before each game, and when I’m confident, I stick to my idea and try not to lose focus.

Any advice for new bettors, on how to study the matches?

I would say that to me there’s nothing better than watching the matches. I know it’s hard, but if we’re into sports betting, we got to enjoy it. If we want to bet on football, we have to like football. I think it is very important to watch the teams we “follow” like I previously stated.

Because that way, we get a better idea of what they are capable of. By doing that, we also get a very good feel for every other team in the league, because when we watch every match from the same team, we end up watching their opponents too, so we end up with a good insight on all the teams in that league.

I advise, for those who are just starting, to focus just on a single league. Keep up with the league’s table, results and news. I’m 100% confident that your “Know How” will improve.

On a final note Ricardo, which leagues do you recommend for those who are just starting?

Well, every person should feel comfortable on what they prefer. I don’t advise anyone to like or follow the French league just because I do and the odds are high.

Starting off, I suggest that they should at least dominate the language in order to keep up with the written press and they should also avoid the tougher leagues, the ones where you never know who’s going to win.

It seems tough, but I believe that with this method, when the bettors focus just on a single league and on certain teams, the chances for success are higher. I advise the English Premier League, because of the language and the Spanish League. However, I advise some caution with the Premier League, because upsets are common and it requires some deeper analysis.

Thanks Ricardo, and we hope that with your input we were able to answer every question regarding this topic. We invite everyone who is reading this article and is still having some doubts to write down your questions in the comment section, so it can be answered by one of our more experienced users.

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